Month: January 2014

The 2014 Go Green Week will run between 10th and 14th February this year. With the biggest line up ever, the University and RUSU have combined efforts to bring a week crammed with over 20 events. There promises to be something for everyone! Whether you want to find out more about careers in the growing sustainability sector on Wednesday 12th during the Sustainability Career Workshop; test you entrepreneurial skills in the RU an Entrepreneur competition or watch the VC and Student President get their hands dirty recycling waste, there’s something for everyone.
During the week, there will be a competition to design an energy saving monitor for the Chemistry Building. The winning entry will receive £100 Oracle vouchers. Visit www.rdg.ac.uk/cleanandgreen/greenweek for more information.
The week starts with an introduction to the Environment and Ethics Officer. Come along and say ’hi’ to Beth in RUSU between 1300 – 1500. In the evening, the launch of the RU an Entrepreneur competition will take place in the Thet Wing Aung Boardroom (RUSU) betwee

n 6.00 pm–7.30 pm. Here potential entrepreneurs will be introduced to the competition run throughout Green Week. The idea is to take a social problem, such as waste and find a social enterprise solution. The aim is to turn a problem to profit in a socially beneficial way.
On Tuesday, there is the opportunity to cheer on the Vice Chancellor and RUSU President as they battle to divert waste from Landfill. In the Palmer foyer between 1250 – 1330 join us for some cake as the competition begins. Last year the VC won. Can RUSU prove they are best at recycling? Once the battle is over, why not hang around and visit the Sustainability Fayre, also in the Palmer foyer.
Wednesday sees the Green Career workshop on campus. This is an opportunity to find out more about life after university from recent graduates working in the sustainability sector. We have graduates in construction, architecture and retail in addition to post graduate students. They will share their experiences and give some insight into this growth sector. After the workshop, pop along to the Frugal Fayre in 3Sixty between 1200 – 1500. Come along and gets tips and ideas for making your money stretch further. Can you afford to miss it?
Also during the week, take the chance to have your bike checked for free with Dr Bike. He will be available outside Eat at London Road on Monday between 1200 – 1400 and again outside Palmer on Wednesday between 1200 – 1400. The week will close with a Love your campus litter pick on Valentine’s Day. Everyone who takes part will be offered a free hot drink to help get that extra bag of litter!
For more information about activities during the week and to see the most up to date list of events, please visit www.rdg.ac.uk/cleanandgreen/greenweek.

I’m sure you’ve all recycled your Christmas trees by now or packed them safely away! If you have any spare Christmas cards still floating around the office, why not take them to M&S who promise to plant a tree for every 1,000 cards received: http://plana.marksandspencer.com/about/partnerships/woodland-trust.
Back at the University and spring term is a busy one for us all. In the coming weeks we have Green Week: 10th – 14th February, the University travel survey and the Green Impact awards submission (7th March) and review (18th March).
The 2014 Go Green Week promises to be one of the best yet. We have moved the week from November to February to coincide with the NUS Go Green Week. This means we have over 20 events crammed into the week, we hope there’s something for everyone. As an environmental champion, here’s a sneak peek of the draft schedule (please excuse the obvious mistake – the Frugal Fayre is in RUSU!). The final list of events will be live towards the end of next week on www.rdg.ac.uk/cleanandgreen/greenweek.

Business travel at the University is becoming an increasingly significant factor in our carbon emission accounting each year. It currently contributes approximately 10% of total carbon emissions and is the only increasing source of emissions. To get a better understanding of University travel patterns, we will be launching the Travel survey in the coming weeks. Please keep an eye out for this and help us gain a better understanding of our emissions. In the meantime, top tips include: taking standard class flights instead of business, this saves approximately 66% of the carbon; take a train rather than fly domestically and try taking the bus instead of a taxi if you need to travel from Campus to town – it’s both cheaper and better for the planet.
Finally, the eagle eyed of you may have noticed the Green Impact workshop during Green Week. This is open to all, but especially relevant to team leaders. Please let me know by reply if you would like to come so we can gauge numbers. It also seems like a good time to remind you that the submission date for Green Impact is 7th March this year, with audits planned to take place on 18th March.
Thanks for reading to the end of this long email. I hope to see you soon!